Improved eaileoad-ohair



WALTER s; sneri/VELL, Vor PAT'ERSON; NEW t JERSEY.

LcttersPatent/,Na 75,475, dated March 10,1868.

IMPROVED RAILROAD-CHAIR.'

@the -tbehrlernfertrhftu int tiges ettttt attrait mit attingere nt tige raue.

"To 'ALL wHoM/IT MAY GONCERN: y

j Beit known'that I, WnLTnnSIQTWELL, of Pnterspp, in the'county of Passaic, and State of New'fler4- sey, have invented certainnew and useful Improvements in Wroughtlroniflhairs or Supports for the Join:ts oiRailroad-Rails; andqIdo hereby declarejthat the `following is a full and exact description thereof.`

` I willfirstdescrib'e-.whatI consider 'the -best 'meanszof carrying out my invention, and will 'afterwards cl'esignatethe points which I believeto be new therein. Q.f. [i1e ,acconi-panying drawings foi-m a part of this speci*- tica-tion.. i l V i t Figure lise plen'yiemand v v v n.. v Figure 2- an edg'eview of apiece of sheet metal which has -been .rollegd'to the'4 proper thickness and condition, 4and has been-eut dieiito a form having` anoutline'sliownin iig. 1Q i A Y Figure greprsentsthe sameeft'er it has .been struck by one' oranere additional vliegend-cut along lines and punched with holes, as represented. i y g Figure 4 is e. plan.v `view 'of-"the same after the parts :of dthe metal have been extended upwardsby being rolled in dies or otherwise by one ormdre operations,

Figure 5 represents sameas fig. 4, but with thelower portion of therails in place.A This figure is, in v .other words, a horizontal section on the line S S in iigY'. Figure lisan end riewofthe chair compl-stain nishedeondition.,

` Figure- Tis a. crossasection through the cha-ir on theli-ne T in g. 4;V It shows an end View ofthe rail in position. l I i l l Figure 8-is a-side friewj'of one end vof the rail'prep'aredtojbe itted into myehair.

.Similar letters of reference indicate like partsinfall the iiguies. l The materialof the whole may be wrought iron, ofgoed quality, rolled in a rollingqnill, and treated Aby well-known processes,` i I I I It' is desirable-'iler the ,purposes of my intention that'the ironl shall be rolled-in a peculiar manner, by giying a. cerresponding form to the rollsfso that thermetal'tshall be thicker along the middle of the chair thanat each edge.v The diierence of thickness which I prefer is very plainly indicated in iig. l, and `the'advantagesdueto the increase ofthicknes--in this manner will lhecozne apparent-as 'we proceed. l

I take a sheet efrolled iron having variations in thickness,A as represented, and cut it, by snitabledies, into pieces of the forni represented in iig. 1', taking care to Yso plaee'the rolled iron in the dies that a thick portion shall extend along the central line, aswill be obvious. I next introduce the piece thus produced into a suitable die-press, and cut thefourholes'a, the four lines b, and the two straight cuts c, all of which are shownin their proper position in g, 3.' The-metialjthusprepared, after being brought to a high temperature, is bentiu other' dies, either at va single operation, 'or at successive operations, until the portions B B B B are raised, so as to stand .atright angles to the main body of'the chaiig'anrl so that the' strip of metal, C, included between the cuts c c is raised, as indicated in iign'i.. In'the act of' raising` this latteripart, the tongue C stretches' or extends the metal. This operation diminishes its thickness, but the increased thickness ofthe portion. of'metal across which the lines c c extend,allo,ws this-stretching-this diminution of thickness-without too greatly reducing it. The metal of this portion, after `'being thus stretched, is still about` the-same thickness as the other portions' of the chair. This thickness V may varyaccording to circumstances, but I- prefer, for ordinary railroad-tracks, a, thickness of about three-fourths of an inch. Y i l l I I prepare the ends of the rils by cutting in suitable dies, or otherwise, inthe manner indicated; that. is to say, I ,punch partial holes' or rectangular notches al, inthe edges of the-bottom ilangeor web, which' coincide, whenthe rollsA are in place, withtthe holesa in the chair, and b y introducing' spikes or other fastenings through the holes a and the notches al, I prevent the rolls'from moving endwise' in thechair. This mode of fastening is 4'identical with thatjemployedin many ordinary chairs, but the notch cl is cut, or otherwise produced, horizona tally across the base, as shown 4in iig. 5, and is believedt'o be novel. In its relation tothc'portionflof the chair,

. it performs a novel function.,v V I i When the rails are thrust into'thechair, whichmaybe done by moderate force, nany approyed manner,

u s v Y t the notches c1 in the end'ofeneh, match nnd't tightly upon the tongue C of the choir. It thus nids very materially in preventing the .Working of the rails vertically relative to each other. It locks into each somewhat in the-manner ofthe dowels which are employed in many other branches oi' the arts.

They corner portions B B -of the chair, on being bent upward, as indicated, are adopted to fit over and match 4agztinsi, the lower portieriv of each rail, andtohold the same firmly, very much in the same manner :is the-corresponding portions 4of ordinary chairs, but the manner in which the metal isapplied is very ddilcrentfrom ordi nary choirs, in the fact that it 'is sheet metal, presented with its edges, (instead of one ofits faces) against thc rail: AnyI tendency of theroil to move is resisted bythe strength of the iron as it stands eflgewse, which is much greater than the strength of the same iron merely bent intw'ise. The increased thickness of the metolnlong the central line gives aniincrensed thickness to thc portions B, where they `come in Contact with the rcil. This is useful 4by increasing the bearing-surface.

. I propose, in manufacturing my choirs in e large way, to heat the. iron, and to cut itin Athe manner shown in iig. 3, amd to bend it into the inished conditionfst a. single heet, and by a very small number of operations.- I esteem it possible toetl'ect the whole with one manipulation, by the nid of a. suitable machine, which I do not propose now to describe. But -I do not limit myself to conducting the several steps `of the manufacture in this manner, or in any other particular manner. I propose to produce the chair by any ofthe approved processes or manipulations. I l l 'I do not conne myself to the precise form end proportions of all the ports here-represented. I propose, for example, to intersperse, with the chairs represented, other chairs', which shall hve only a. portion of the novel features of my invention.- Such other 'chairs may have vthe 'tongue cut 'into or cut entirely across, so as tol allow rails to be received which heve not the-notches at each end. The employlixentofA such chairs thickly interspersed,V or still better, regularly interposed, or alternately with the chairs described and representedgvill, in many instances, be advantageous. It will allow the ends of the rails which fit therein to be out offL or shortened as required. u

Having now fully described myinvention, together with the best menus known to me of putting it in practice, what): 'claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is as follows:

v I claim,W in chairs for railroad-rails, holdingthe mils by sheet metal Apresented edgewisc to the rails, substnntislly :ts-and in the mannerhcrein set forth.

Witnesses:

D. L. Fnnnomv, .F. A. HADIcKn. 

